Challenger to the King
by Canadian Tom-boy
Summary: Only a week has passed since Raito began ruling the world. But even only after one week, someone seems to be mettling the criminals he writes in the Death Note arn't dying every time. To make matters worse, it is all cause by a new opponent similar to L.
1. Just a Coincedence?

**Canadian Tom-boy:** Blah; read up to chapter 100 of Death Note, and ideas sparked. Don't forget to R&R! Don't be afraid to criticize.

**Summary: **Only mere weeks have past since Kira won against Near and announced himself to the world as Yagami Raito, ruling over the entire world. But those weeks of joy weren't meant to last, as he soon figures out as when he writes the names of criminals in the Death Note, some of them are surviving from his death penalty. Bewildered by how this could be, he suddenly gets an e-mail from an unknown sender, announcing a new opponent. But Raito isn't worried; he'll be able to defeat this new opponent like he had for L and Near, right?

**Disclaimer: **I do not own any of the Death Note characters or the original plot.

**Bold** text means someone is speaking.

_Italics_ mean a dream or thought.

Underline means the thing underlined was made up entirely by me.

_Underlined Italics _mean it's a date.

**_Bold Italics _**mean the voice is coming from a cell phone, computer, radio, etc.

**_Underlined Bold Italics_** mean a God of Death is speaking.

Laughter escaped from the confines of Yagami Raito's soul, for he had held that true laughter in for longer than any could bear. He was able to laugh for real, for all his opponent were dead.

Oh how this pleased Raito, the new ruler of the world. He had been known as Kira to the world, but just six days ago he had announced himself as Kira and proved it by punishing a criminal. He also had all the Death Notes in his possession, including the one owned by Mikami, who had judged criminals in his stead while he was unable to. Leaving such a man alive would've been a dire mistake for Kira, especially if he announced who he was on national television with him alive, for that man could very well kill him and become the new ruler of the world.

Now Yagami Raito was left with no worries, with the whole world in his hands. Now he could write names down freely with Ryuuku by his side. Though the large building Raito now lived in never ceased to amaze the God of Death; especially since it had an apple orchid. That absolutely delight him.

The house they lived in was not a house; it was a shrine. A shrine built by his followers. Raito had a throne room and everything, where he would write names in the note while others guarded him, and Ryuuku watched. Ryuuku now owned his own Death note once more, but he stuck by Raito, for things were interesting around him, and he could not pass up the opportunity to eat apples as much as he wanted.

But currently, both were in a private room of Yagami's complete with many monitors to watch separate TV stations, some dedicated to worshipping him, some dedicated to providing him with criminal information. But currently, only the ones with criminal information were on, Death Note spread out on the desk in front of him, leaned back in his chair with a smirk on his face. His laptop sat off near the corner of the enormous desk. Ryuuku was feasting on a basket of apples on one of the end tables of Raito's enormous bed that was stuffed with feathers, curtains over it made of velvet. Raito lived like a God, but never paid attention to the detail of the interior of his grand home.

Instead, he let out another laugh. _L, Mello, Near…they all thought they could defeat me, and paid the price. Who's righteous now?_

Deciding to go back to writing down names, he watched one of the monitors still with a smirk on his face. A criminal soon flickered onto the screen; her name was Yorokobi Nesshin, and she had been charged of murdering her husband purposely. There was nothing special about her; dyed blond hair that reached past her shoulders, brown eyes, and thin shoulders and features. Raito had issued a police force around the world that would catch acts of criminals and such, but would not punish them. That was his job. Only when all the criminals were gone would Raito dispatch most of the force, but there would always be criminals, so he would never fully get rid of the force, nicknamed Kira's Army. Even though people knew who he was, they still called him Kira.

Wistfully, Raito jotted down her name, her face in his mind. He looked back up to the screen, waiting. After a few moments, she would die of a heart attack, as everyone knew with the Death Note. _Three…two…one…_

Raito could help but grin when his radio communication beeped. With the simple press of a button, one of Kira's Army's officers began to speak. **_"Kira, Yorokobi Nesshin has collapsed, as you most likely judged." _**

_Well, of course I judged._ Raito thought. He held down the button beside the one that turned the radio on. **"Make sure she's dead, but proceed with caution. We don't want someone innocent like you dying after all, Matsuda."**

That was correct; Raito had killed everyone he had worked with and that had worked with Near except for Matsuda. Raito harnessed Matsuda's fear and helped him make the choice of joining worldwide justice in Kira's way. Matsuda was afraid to die, but Raito knew deep down the man felt like he was carrying out justice. But not once after it was revealed that Raito was Kira did Matsuda ever call him anything aside from 'Kira'..

"_**Roger that, Kira."**_

_Another criminal tastes righteousness._ Raito thought, shoulders shaking from joy. Ryuuku just glanced over, before suddenly gliding over. He jabbed a finger at the monitor that still displayed the woman's picture. **_"Is that the person you just killed?"_**

Raito raised an eyebrow and nodded his head at the God of Death. **"That is correct, Ryuuku."**

He was caught off guard when Ryuuku suddenly began to laugh in the form of a chuckle, the God's body shaking from kept in laughter. Suddenly Raito had an idea of what Ryuuku was thinking.

"_**Well, I can still see her name and lifespan above her head."**_

Raito nearly fell out of his chair. He never would've dreamt the Death note would fail him! _How is this possible?! The most basic of basic rules of the Death Note it 'If you write someone's name in this book, they will die'! How!?_

Raito virtually leapt to the button as the radio beeped again. **"Matsuda! What happened?!"**

"**I-I don't know, Kira- She certainly collapsed form a heart attack, but when we went and checked on her, suddenly she started moving again, and even got up…"**

Raito was furious. **"Matsuda! Kill her right now, or I will kill you in her stead!"** he barked, letting go of the button only when he was satisfied when he heard a gunshot. He didn't need Matsuda to tell him 'target has been eliminated' or whatever he'd say.

Ryuuku was still laughing. Raito calmed himself down slightly. _Think Raito. Maybe you wrote the wrong name and she just happened to collapse…there's no possible way the Death Note could fail. Nonetheless, the woman is dead, so it doesn't matter now…it won't happen again._

Raito then forced himself to forget about the whole ordeal, continuing to write names. Though anger-filled thoughts would creep in about the woman not dying, questions in his head left unanswered. _Is there another secret to the Death Note unknown to Ryuuku? Did Rem not tell me about it?_ He found himself clutching his pen tightly.

_No; my enemies are dead. I am God; if I have enemies I don't know about it, my people will eliminate them for me…_

So much stress was being piled on the God of the New World, after only a week of ruling.

**A/N: **Sorry if it's a short and boring chapter. I can assure the ending to the next chapter will be better too; I just didn't want to reveal much at all in the first chapter that's like an introductory chapter. Feel free to ask me questions in your comments to show me what you're thinking; I won't reply, but it might help me think of ideas as well as how my readers feel about the story thus far, even if it's barely started.


	2. Kira is Angered

**Canadian Tom-Boy: **Haha! That one review has started the production of this chapter I always wait for one review to come before starting. As I specified in the last chapter, I won't reply to anything mentioned in the reviews concerning the story, so here I am, biting my tongue. Lawl.

**Summary: **Only mere weeks have past since Kira won against Near and announced himself to the world as Yagami Raito, ruling over the entire world. But those weeks of joy weren't meant to last, as he soon figures out as when he writes the names of criminals in the Death Note, some of them are surviving from his death penalty. Bewildered by how this could be, he suddenly gets an e-mail from an unknown sender, announcing a new opponent. But Raito isn't worried; he'll be able to defeat this new opponent like he had for L and Near, right?

**Disclaimer: **I do not own any of the Death Note characters or the original plot.

**Bold** text means someone is speaking.

_Italics_ mean a dream or thought.

Underline means the thing underlined was made up entirely by me.

_Underlined Italics _mean it's a date.

**_Bold Italics _**mean the voice is coming from a cell phone, computer, radio, etc.

**_Underlined Bold Italics_** mean a God of Death is speaking.

Soon the next morning came along for the new king of the world. He had trouble falling asleep last night, so he had commanded that one of his subjects get him something that would tranquilize him, for a king could not look like a raccoon. One said subject brought him a mysterious sort of tea. While he couldn't remember what they had said, he had made that person list off every ingredient in the tea, and then have it analyzed before drinking it. Raito couldn't afford to be poisoned.

After conducting that it was safe to drink, he had dismissed the person, and drank it quickly, Ryuuku watching him all the way while biting into an apple. Yagami Raito's mind reflected the events of the day while he waited for the tea's powers to overcome his nervousness. _That woman surviving the punishment put in the Death Note…there is no possible way for that to happen…But it only happened once. Why only once?_

Before he could think of any possible reasons, his eyes were shaded by their own lids, and soon his head hit down on his fluffy, thousand-dollar pillow…

But now, the king sat awake. He had dreamed a dreamless sleep, which made him glad; his mind was now clear from worrying thoughts as he slipped out from underneath the covers. Carefully he slipped off his clothing, opening his grand wardrobe. He wasn't much for picking fancy outfits; he just slapped two things together and it always worked. Even if it didn't, everybody would be too afraid to say so, for they knew they could easily be killed.

He let out a light yawn as he reached in and grabbed a clean white shirt, selecting a pinstripe vest to go over top of it with matching pants. He could have any fashion in the world now that he was ruling it, and started all the fashion trends. As he slipped on the clothing, he instantly notice the Death God floating by the monitors, for the bowl of apples was empty without a crumb of apples. His eyes stared at the blank screens. Ryuuku had never bothered with modern technology; just always stared at it.

Raito shook his head a bit. Ryuuku would most likely follow him today until he got more apples. Yagami didn't care entirely; Ryuuku was a free God of Death, no longer confined to Raito. But the Shimigami had been stubborn enough to stay with him, and the king knew that. Regardless, he gripped the brass handle on the beautifully carved door, which he had never taken the time to examine, leaving its beauty neglected. If the door had feelings, it would've felt hurt when the Shimigami just floated through the solid object when it was closed behind the king.

With a quick turn and click, the room was locked. Yagami was always cautious, for there was always the possibility of a rebellion, even if the whole world- disregarding criminals – claimed to follow him. He had no worried about his room being broken into; it was impossible to pick the lock of his room, for with that one click and turn started a whole chain of locking mechanisms that shut the door tight. The windows were also made of an unbreakable glass, impervious to bombs and bullets alike. Should anyone try coming through the walls would find themselves a surprise; under the building's pearly white exterior, were columns and walls made of the kind of metal on an armored car.

With all this, Raito felt safe, but he would never let his guard down. While he always left his Death Note in a secret place in his room, he always carried folded slips of the Death Note pages, so he had room for more than one name on each slip, even if he rarely ever had to use those slips.

All things set aside, he walked along the wide passageway with only his socks on. When he got to the grand staircase, he slipped on black leather shoes, freshly cleaned and scuffed. This was were he stopped daily for his shoes, for none of the cleaning staff would dare enter the passageway that only lead to his room and no other. Besides; the king liked it this way.

He began his short journey down the center of the marble staircase, which was carpeted in red velvet, which always felt good beneath bare feet, but the king would never bring himself to something that his enemy would seem keen on doing; well, ex-enemy, for L was dead and done with now. A smirk crawled onto Raito's face as he recalled that though again, chuckling triumphantly. Ryuuku just looked around as he descended down with the ruler of the world. **_"Heh; I never fail to be amazed that some people built all this just for you to use."_**

Raito looked to the God of Death, smiling and shaking his head a bit. Once they got to the base of the stairs, he turned right, into his private little dining room. Well, little was an underrate, for the dining room was big enough to seat about eight families of four, excluding Raito's grand seat of his own. The king made the move of walking across the room to his seat, which was big enough for two to sit with their hips not touching.

The king nestled himself in, before reaching with his foot and stepping on a little red button that no one but him was allowed to touch. It was a button to summon the servants. And sure enough, one single servant dressed in a fine black tuxedo came to his side. **"What would you like to eat today, Your Majesty Kira?"**

Oh, how the life of the ruler of the world inflated Raito's ego.

The reverse of the morning routine happened at exactly 7: 00 p.m. At this time, Raito would travel up the stairs after all his duties were done, such as sending messages to his spokesperson, currently a young, serious man that had become a staff of Sakura TV. Raito planned on watching tonight, seeing if the spokesperson carried on the instructions sent to him. Regardless, at the top of the stairs, Yagami would slip off his shoes and continued down the hallway. He would unlock his door, enter the room, and lock it behind him. It was a kind of door that automatically unlocked if the handle was turned from the inside. But instead of changing into pajamas, Raito would head over to the monitors and his computer after getting his Death Note out of its hiding place.

The bowl of apples was stacked full, being munched on by the Shimigami, for he had gone some hours without even biting into an apple. With the flick of a switch, Raito turned on all his monitors and his computer. He reached for his cell phone at the side of the desk. He turned it on, even if he knew he wouldn't get any messages. He switched most of the monitors to crime broadcastings, but changed the closest one to him to Sakura TV.

He smiled. Like instructed, the young spokesperson had come on the program right at 7: 05 p.m. Raito watched, ignoring the munching sounds of Ryuuku.

The young man was an American that worked and lived in Japan. His hair was blonde, his eyes a piercing blue. His skin was fair, but darker than all the Japanese. His shoulders were broad, adding to his serious face. Raito had chosen such a person for his loyalty to Kira, and the fact his appearance would attract Japanese viewers. He listened to the monitor, muting the rest.

**_"Good afternoon; Kevin Geiser here today with Kira's new message." _**The man cleared his throat, reading from the paper in his hands. **_" 'I, Kira, the God of this World, give permission to the people of the world to capture and interrogate anyone under the suspicion of planning a rebellion against Kira. Once a fair trial is given, the court-reports are to be sent to my shrine, where someone appointed by Kira will decide if the person is innocent or guilty. Those found guilty will be punished with death.' That is all for today. Now our lovely weather lady, C-" _**

Raito switched the channel on the monitor, smirking a bit. _That should stop any rebellions, for they will fear being killed even more than before._

And with that, Raito flicked the mute off on all the monitors, getting to work writing names in his Death Note.

Over the course of the next two hours, Raito was satisfied to hear reports that all the criminals written had died. No miraculous surviving this time. He let out an evil laugh, showing that satisfaction to Ryuuku, who floated over with interest.

**"Look at this Ryuuku;" **Raito held up the report saying all the criminals punished had died. **"That woman who had survived yesterday meant nothing, for no other thing like that has happened again!" ** Raito said with a laugh.

**_"Kukuku…don't jinx yourself, Raito." _**

Raito ignored him, starting with the punishments again. The next name he wrote was Kokyuu Takayama. It was another woman, who had been involved with dealing cocaine with a small group secretly for years. Raito pictured her face in his mind; long black hair that was tucked away to one side, hazel eyes that were always half-lidded, thin lips always closed, and rosy cheeks. After scribbling the name down, he tilted back in his seat, waiting for the radio to beep in signification in about fifty seconds.

But as Raito waited past fifty seconds, no beep came.

He placed all four chair legs on the ground, staring at the radio. _Shit._ He quickly turned his head to Ryuuku, who was laughing.

**_"Kukuku…I told you not to jinx yourself…kukuku…"_** Was the only words that the Death God spoke. Instantly Raito knew; the woman had not died.

Just then, the radio beeped. He lunged for the button. **"It's Kira; what's your situation?" **The king asked as calmly as he could, for his whole body was shaking a bit.

**_"A-all the men… th-there's blood everywhere…Takayama, urg! …she h-had set up wall-mines, so when we saw her…she had collapsed, but then gotten up and escaped…there are no survivors except myself…guh!" _**Then the connection was cut off.

Raito's finger was glued to the button. He stared at the radio in horror. _No way…this can't be a coincidence… not after two get up and leave after being punished…_Raito couldn't know for sure, though. He hastily removed his finger from the button, randomly selecting a criminal to punish. _Kirokawa Shiro,_ _twenty years old…murder of his wife and child…_

Raito wrote three more names down. He waited for the radio, and when it beeped, he pressed the button down. **"Kira here. What's your status?" **

**_"Ah, so that's what Kira's voice sounds like… Status? Escaped criminal. That's right, Kira; you couldn't kill me, Kirokawa Shiro, could you? Or else I'd be dead right now. I thought I was having a heart attack, but I was suddenly cured, and then released poison gas on your men. I say the body count is about five. Anyways, I'm off to somewhere far from here. Have luck trying to find me!"_**

_Beep…beep…beep…_

Raito didn't let go of the button, not until the radio beep again. Then he let go and hit the button again quickly. Before he could speak, the man on the other end spoke.

**_"Target, codename 'Ripper', is now dead. He had collapsed, but then rose back to his feet. I apologize, Kira, for not getting your consent on killing him, but we did." _**

Raito felt little relief from hearing the target was dead. **"You are pardoned. Continue your duties."**

In the next minute he received two more radio backs, one of with the target escaped, and the other of which the target died of the heart attack.

Raito couldn't deny it; someone out there was stopping his punishment.

Angrily, the king slammed his fists on the desk. **"How!? How the hell is this even possible!? I am king, and my punishment is a message from God! How could one avoid punishment from God!?" **He growled, glaring at Ryuuku as if the God of Death somehow had something to do with it.

**_"Hey; don't look at me. I'd never interfere, and if I wanted to, reviving someone from their name being written in the Death note is beyond my power."_**

Then, after Ryuuku spoke, both his computer and phone beeped, indicating a message on them. Raito calmed down his bones which were shaking with anger, first picking up the phone. He opened the message, gritting his teeth and the message on it. He gripped the phone tightly in his left hand; if his anger could be turned into muscle power, he would've broken the phone. With his right hand, he clicked on the mail icon on the screen. He felt like throwing both the computer and the phone at the wall, for both held the same message, and both senders were unknown;

_Getting frustrated, Kira? Well, with your punishment not getting carried out, you should be. Your way of ruling is wrong. Have you never read about the rulers of England from the 1500s and up? Most of them had their subjects planning a secret rebellion against them, for most of them were wicked rulers. That is happening with you, my dear Kira. I will never bow down to you; instead, I will prevent your punishment. You will not be ruler for long._

Raito shut all the monitors, computer, and phone off, setting all aside calmly enough. Ryuuku thought Raito was going to go to bed and sleep or something, but nearly jumped when the boy stood up quickly and jammed his pen into the desk, breaking it with crushing force.

**"GOD DAMNIT ALL!"** Raito shouted with everything his lungs could give him.

_I will destroy my enemy, and I will stay ruler with my opposer's head on a pike at my side! I will win once more!_

_**"Kukuku…this is getting interesting again…"**_

**A/N: **Whoo Second chapter! I apologize if my chapters are a bit dull; more should happen in the next chapter. Lots more, and lots more dilemma for Raito. Hope you enjoyed Don't forget to review!


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